The latest Sandra Bland news from The Texas Tribune.
A year and a half after Sandra Bland was found dead in the Waller County Jail, Texas lawmakers are expected to consider new jail reforms. But rural sheriffs worry the state’s tight budget situation could result in unfunded mandates. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Jail_SOM_Thumbnail.jpg)
Democrat Cedric Watson had hoped to become Waller County's first black sheriff, but he lost by a wide margin to incumbent Glenn Smith, a Republican. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/11/03/Cedric_Watson_R_Glenn_Smith.jpg)
Attorneys for the state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland are considering asking a judge to throw out his indictment for perjury. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/03/22/2016-03-22_BLAND_ENCINIA_6148.jpg)
Could the police-civilian divide be healed with new civics lessons and traffic stop guidelines from the state? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/02/09/PoliceStop.jpg)
It is unclear whether the Texas Department of Public Safety will make any changes to its training policies following the announced settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Sandra Bland. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/20/UP9A0149.jpg)
Texas lawmakers will meet Tuesday to discuss the push for reforms in Texas jail standards, police training and care for mentally ill inmates in the wake of Sandra Bland's death in the Waller County Jail. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/07/24/Sandra_Bland_Candlelight_Vigil_Erika_Rich_07.JPG)
With one major legal battle seemingly behind them, Sandra Bland's survivors and advocates are gearing up for the next phase of their quest to wrest change from the 28-year-old black woman's death. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/07/16/CKCoKC5WEAATZ1S.jpg_large.jpg)
The family of Sandra Bland — the woman who died last year in a Waller County Jail cell — has reached a settlement with Texas officials in a wrongful death lawsuit, a lawyer for the family said Thursday. Full Story
Almost 7,000 individuals in Texas have died in police custody or behind bars over the past 10 years, according to an online report released Wednesday by a University of Texas at Austin research institute. Nearly 2,000 of them had not been convicted of a crime. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Jail-Prison-Bars-1.jpg)
Two women with Texas ties — one the daughter of a legend, the other a mother who lost her child in a Texas jail —pressed the case for Hillary Clinton's presidency at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday evening. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/07/26/DNC-Reuters.jpg)
Sandra Bland's 2015 arrest, and death three days later in the Waller County Jail, remain catalysts for lawmakers, activists and policy experts seeking reforms in various facets of Texas criminal justice. Full Story
Waller County needs a new jail, local officers need body cameras to record their activities and the sheriff's office needs to promote civility, a study committee formed after the death of Sandra Bland said Tuesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/07/18/Friday_Vigil_for_Bland.jpg)
Former Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia appeared before a state district judge Tuesday and entered a not guilty plea to a perjury charge stemming from his arrest of Sandra Bland. Full Story
When former Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia steps into a Waller County courtroom on Tuesday for his arraignment, he will move forward with one of three battles he is fighting since he arrested Sandra Bland last year. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/01/07/Encinia_Booking.jpg)
A federal judge on Thursday said attorneys for fired Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Brian Encinia haven't yet offered a good enough reason to keep a civil rights lawsuit filed by the mother of Sandra Bland from moving forward. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/03/16/Encinia-Bland.jpg)
In the Roundup: Republicans in the state's capital city are calling for the new Travis County GOP chairman to be removed from office. Also this week, the U.S. Supreme Court took up Texas’ restrictions on abortion clinics and the arresting officer of Sandra Bland is no longer employed by the state. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/030416_Still.jpg)
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw has issued a termination letter for Brian Encinia, the trooper who arrested Sandra Bland. Full Story
A federal judge Thursday ordered Waller County and the state of Texas to show the legal team representing Sandra Bland's family the original videos from her time in jail. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/02/18/2016-02-18_SANDRABLAND_1575.jpg)
Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia's arraignment on a perjury charge related to his arrest of Sandra Bland will be held in March, the Waller County District Clerk's office confirmed. Full Story
When asked about escalations with law enforcement, Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said last week that officers need to respond professionally and added, "Anybody that’s been spit at ... you just take it." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/01/19/6F6A0102.jpg)